Solanki displays his survival skills

So many are called, so few are chosen. England have selected more current cricketers for Test matches and one-day internationals than any other country, through having a larger professional pool than any other. And the chances are that for every player who makes the grade, two or three will fall by the wayside.

Sixty current players have been selected by England for one-day internationals, of whom eight have scored 1,000 runs and another seven have taken 50 wickets: in other words only one in four becomes established. For Australia, 30 current players have been selected for one-day internationals: over half have reached one or other landmark, or both.

If, of this season's England intake of Richard Johnson, Robert Key, Anthony McGrath and Jim Troughton, only one is destined to reach either landmark, McGrath presently looks the best bet. Johnson, as a 28-year-old fast bowler, does not have age on his side; Key, if he is an international batsman, is not a one-day one; and Troughton has been so far out of his depth that he has to give way to Graham Thorpe, although the sharpness of Troughton's fielding suggests he might come again, as Vikram Solanki has done after his initial failure three years ago.

Scoring a hundred in a one-day international for England, as Solanki did against South Africa, is such a rare achievement that the chances of his becoming an established player are very good. Of the nine current batsmen who have made a one-day hundred for England, including Solanki now, only Alistair Brown has not gone on to a substantial career - whereas Paul Collingwood presumably will after recovery from his shoulder dislocation.

Solanki has coped with high pace much better than Brown, whose hundred came against India. Nevertheless, from the moment he returned to the side as opening batsman against Wales three weeks ago, it has become increasingly fashionable to suggest that Solanki might be more suited to the middle-order, where his rare ability to work the ball into gaps with his wrists could be best exploited.

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Thorpe, the only other England middle-order batsman who can, does so by pivoting his hips and twisting his whole body when working to leg, in a style he developed himself.

Another advantage in moving Solanki to the middle-order, where he might have a Test future too, is that he could devote more time to his off-spin, which has atrophied shockingly on the seamers' pitches that have prevailed at Worcester. As long ago as 1996 he took 26 championship wickets at 31, including three five-wicket hauls, but has yet to treble that total.

If Solanki could - as he should - bowl half-a-dozen overs on turning pitches, like Martin van Jaarsveld did at Old Trafford on Thursday evening, his fielding at point - the best England have ever had there in one-day cricket - would make up a valuable package.

Also, such has been the underperformance of Ashley Giles in the NatWest Series, it seems that England, like India, had better make do with four bowlers then find the remaining 10 overs from various batsmen.

On a turner Michael Vaughan and Solanki should be able to do what Virender Sehwag and Sachin Tendulkar's spinners do for India. On a seamer it could be Collingwood and Marcus Trescothick, who is bowling again in the nets, or perhaps in the longer term Ian Bell and Will Jefferson, doing the same as Sourav Ganguly and Tendulkar's seamers.

In Test cricket 58 current players have represented England (Phil Tufnell can be called many things but current is not one of them). Of these, 12 have scored 1,000 runs, including Craig White, and eight including White have taken 50 wickets. In Test cricket therefore the England debutant has a slightly better chance, one in three, of becoming established.

Below is a whole team of players who have been selected for England for Tests or one-day internationals, or both, yet who have - so far - fallen by the wayside. No wonder at the National Academy the players now discuss whether their ambition is simply to represent England, or to have a successful career for England.